Cohesion policy after Brexit: the economic, social and institutional challenges

Bachtler, John; Begg, Iain

doi:10.1017/s0047279417000514

Cited by 37 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 35 publications

(32 reference statements)

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“…Although it is too early to predict any deeper spatial impact of Brexit on places where “new” EU migrants are more concentrated, the potential loss of EU Structural Funds for the United Kingdom may add additional economic uncertainties for CEE migrants, and indeed for the alienated “native” working classes in these disadvantaged regions, the victims of the Conservative government's politics of austerity, who were one of the main groups voting for Brexit (Morgan, ). In the meantime, the possible combination of blocked migration to Britain and enlarged return flows of CEE migrants may require new employment‐related regional policies for areas and countries affected by these “reversed” migration trends (Bachtler & Begg, , ; Di Cataldo, ).…”

Section: “The Future Is Open” or Not?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Between disruptions and connections: “New” European Union migrants in the United Kingdom before and after the Brexit

Lulle

King

Dvořáková

et al. 2018

Population Space and Place

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This paper examines the pre-and post-Brexit experiences and perspectives of migrants from three "new" European Union (EU) countries-Latvia, Poland, and Slovakia-who are living and working or studying in the London area. Deploying the key concepts of power-geometry and relational space, the analysis explores the way that Brexit impacted the migrants' connections to the U.K. "bounded space" and their ongoing mobility behaviour and plans. Empirical evidence comes from 35 in-depth interviews with migrants, most of whom were interviewed both before and after the referendum of June 23, 2016. We find that migrants are unequally positioned socio-spatially to deal with the new power-geometries resulting from Brexit, and we detect diverging trajectories between the more highly skilled and high-achieving EU citizens and the more disadvantaged low-skilled labour migrants. First, we probe the uncertainties brought about by juridical status, related to the length of stay in Britain.Second, we explore personal and professional connections and disruptions. Third, we question how the power-geometries of time, juridical status, and personal/professional connections/disruptions shape future mobility plans. KEYWORDS Brexit, London region, migrants from "new" EU countries, power-geometry, relational space 1 | INTRODUCTION Immediately after the European Union (EU) Referendum, on the morning of June 24, 2016, speculations, fears, and uncertainties emerged:Who would qualify to remain, who would be "forced" to leave, who will want to leave the United Kingdom? Brexit poses many questions to population geographers. But they all are grounded in the chasm between "bounded" and "relational" space: between territory defined by borders and regimes of migration control, and space as constructed through social relations and fluid, contested boundaries. Furthermore, these judicial, migration management-inflicted questions invite us to step back and uncover deeper historical relations between the notions of "settled" status versus mobile migrants, between "old" and "new" migrants and the politicisation of certain types of newcomers. In an infamous quote prior the United Kingdom's general election in 2015, Nigel Farage, then leader of the UKIP party and the key figure in stirring anti-immigrant sentiments during the "Leave" campaign, moulded colonial and post-socialist migration contexts in the United Kingdom's history of making migrants as follows: I have to confess I do have a slight preference: I do think, naturally, that people from India and Australia are in some ways more likely to speak English, understand common law and have a connection with this country than some people that come perhaps from countries that haven't fully recovered from being behind the Iron Curtain. (Mason, 2015)The people who came to the United Kingdom from countries that once were behind the "Iron Curtain" are at the heart of our inquiry.Most of our research participants arrived through the free movement of labour regime within the EU. However, the Leave campaign built i...

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Section: “The Future Is Open” or Not?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Between disruptions and connections: “New” European Union migrants in the United Kingdom before and after the Brexit

Lulle

King

Dvořáková

et al. 2018

Population Space and Place

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“…The many interviews across the socio-economic and political spectrum in the UK two years before the referendum (HMG, 2014a-d), and the innumerable debates, hearings and blogs during and following the referendum campaign showed that opinion within the UK remained deeply divided, both horizontally and vertically, concerning the most effective balance between EU and member state competence, and between economic and social objectives (see also Bachtler and Begg, 2017). These divisions add to the difficulty of predicting to what extent social legislation implemented since the UK joined the EEC will be removed or amended, and whether the remaining EU member states will seek to develop binding social legislation.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing the Past and Future Development of EU and UK Social Policy

Hantrais¹

2018

Social Policy & Society

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This article examines both the place of the social dimension in past and on-going debates about the United Kingdom's membership of the European Union and the reciprocal influence of EU and UK institutions on developments in the social policy field. It explores fluctuations in the relationship between economic and social policy, the divisiveness within, between and across political parties, the role of key policy actors in shaping the social agenda, and the failure of attempts to harmonise social welfare systems as enlargement intensified their diversity. We argue that, although difficult to predict, the implications of Brexit for future social policy in the UK and EU may not be so far-reaching as in some other policy areas, due largely to the maintenance of unanimous voting and the subsidiarity principle in many social domains, combined with the shift towards soft law and the widespread resistance of member states to tighter social integration.

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“…A second question, related to communication and awareness, centres on how well 'embedded' EU regional spending has been in the UK. This is especially the case in England, where, following the abolition of regional development agencies in 2010, the subnational institutional landscape has been in a state of flux, preventing a long-term and coherent approach to EU regional policy being developed (Bachtler & Begg, 2017). The management of EU regional spending has also become centralized.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There has already been some discussion on post-Brexit Cohesion Policy and regional funding (e.g., Bachtler & Begg, 2017;Bell, 2017;Di Cataldo, 2017;Huggins, 2018; Sykes & Schulze Bäing, 2017). However, analysis into the role of EU regional spending in influencing the referendum outcome is lacking.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Did EU regional spending affect the Brexit referendum?

Huggins

2018

Regional Studies, Regional Science

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This paper explores whether European Union (EU) regional spending influenced how local areas voted in the UK's 2016 EU referendum. While much focus has been on identity and demographic factors in explaining the referendum result, little attention has been paid to the role of EU interventions in the UK's regions. This paper provides an initial exploration into this by assessing the role of EU regional spending. It finds the level of EU spending in local areas had little impact on how those areas voted in the referendum, raising questions about the communication and awareness of EU regional spending.

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Cohesion policy after Brexit: the economic, social and institutional challenges

Cited by 37 publications

References 35 publications

Between disruptions and connections: “New” European Union migrants in the United Kingdom before and after the Brexit

Between disruptions and connections: “New” European Union migrants in the United Kingdom before and after the Brexit

Assessing the Past and Future Development of EU and UK Social Policy

Did EU regional spending affect the Brexit referendum?

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